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Hi guys,
I think I have been an xda user long enough..so I though, why dont I try my hand in developing and be more of a giver than a taker in this great community.
Problem is, I dont know where to start. So if you dev guys could give me an effective learning path(study this first, then this, then this)..I would be most greatful!
Im not a developer by training(an accountant, of all things!!), however, I did get into IT audit so I know a little bit about the different flavors of unix..and I love coding(we use some scripting software in the trade, i know i know, its different) and i am never happier than trying to figure out how to make things work using code..
I know some of you may laugh at me, but I really am interested in this.
Thanks!
There's a great site here with lots of useful info
If your endgame is to develop for Android it might be best for you to jump in the deep end and start learning Java immediately. Don't worry about learning it by developing Android applications, just focus on developing on PC and you will have a much easier time. Once you've picked up the basics of Object Orientated programming then it's time to take a look at the Android APIs and go through some tutorials so you can see how the apps come together.
At the end of the day it's going to be a big job for you because you have very little experience. Unfortunately theres no real easy way out so you just have to put in the hours.
Yep!! Sleepless nights! Just like a real dev..hehehe... I do know some languages like vb..python..javascript..but that was just me muckin around..nothin serious also..already had the netbeans ide setup...and got my java hello world cherry popped..hahaha..so lame
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DreadPirateDan said:
There's a great site here with lots of useful info
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Click to collapse
Thanks man!!! Looks good!
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saunderez said:
If your endgame is to develop for Android it might be best for you to jump in the deep end and start learning Java immediately. Don't worry about learning it by developing Android applications, just focus on developing on PC and you will have a much easier time. Once you've picked up the basics of Object Orientated programming then it's time to take a look at the Android APIs and go through some tutorials so you can see how the apps come together.
At the end of the day it's going to be a big job for you because you have very little experience. Unfortunately theres no real easy way out so you just have to put in the hours.
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Yes..that is my endgame..but i was hoping you guys could point me to some android specific stuff..like how kernerls work..etc..basically i want to know the environment first...using google doesnt really yield in depth stuff
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Android is basically Linux with a custom UI.
If you want to know how kernels work (and you really shouldn't(!) if your goal is to make apps, as that's REALLY in-depth lowlevel stuff) just check out how Linux works - there's a million million articles on the net about the internals of Linux.
Android specific app development stuff, incl. tutorials and samples are here:
http://developer.android.com/guide/index.html
Maybe you just wanna setup the SDK and try to get the "Hello World" working, continue from there.
SDK: http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html
I've been using Android now for a few years. I really like the work that the devs do in customizing roms and making them better than what comes on the phones stock. I would like to learn how to do this for myself because it seems that there's bits and pieces from several different roms I like and would love to incorporate in to one. Problem is, I have no clue on where to begin. I know at the root of Android is a linux kernel. So should I concentrate on learning C? I also know that the apks are java, should I concentrate on learning java? I'm not a total moron when it comes to writing software, I've written a good many applications in visual basic, I've also written tons of software and programmed a lot of PICS and AVR's (in PICBasic and Arduino). I've just never really had the need to learn C or Java. Any info would be helpful.
Thanks!
i understand this question has been asked in similar ways but programming is quite broad so hopefully i can get a personalised response to help zone in on my learning.
bit of information about me:
ive been using computers all my life whilst doing a little bit of code tweaking for a variety of things such as; games(hex editting) web coding and even a bit of excel macro work.
i currently have no plans or commitments as of now and wanted to use my free days to learn something new that ive been intrested in since i was about 12 years old.
im looking for a base or a starting point in learning coding... i understand jumping straight into coding apps and things is way out of my reach but i guess i have to start somewhere! Im very much intrested in customisation and the ability to customise as much as possible on phones, games and applications but i have no idea where to start...
ive been looking around and people recommend learning all sorts of languages from:
php/css moving up to java
straight to java
python
c#
c++
c then progressing into c++
but id rather get an answer from a community that is notoriously skilled in the developing area so much so that i feel this is the best place to ask!
if there is anyone who also wishes to help me personally in helping me along the way and giving me some advice then please pm me as id be so grateful to have someone there to help me.
thanks in advanced for your responses im looking forward to learning and hopefully starting something that will be a major part of my life from now on.
Well, since this is a mainly Aneroid development website, and if you are interested in aneroid, I would just jump straight into Java. That's what I did at least... to learn Java just google "Beginner's guide to Java" or something. Hope this helps.
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i was hoping for more input then just one person, i would like to know what others feel is the best way to go about it so i can build up an idea of peoples opinions to see what i feel is the best strategy of learning.
i appreciate your input ballarous =)
penfold1992 said:
i was hoping for more input then just one person, i would like to know what others feel is the best way to go about it so i can build up an idea of peoples opinions to see what i feel is the best strategy of learning.
i appreciate your input ballarous =)
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What are your development plans for? Do you plan on donning an apron and becoming a rom developer or do you plan on developing apps? You're setup will differ between the two but either way grab yourself a few good java books but understand it applies to Android differently than regular java. Learn the fundamentals of java, it's core rules etc but study googles open source api to see how you implement your phones system into regular java format. Here is a link to the Google source for developers (not source as in the source you sync to build Android, source as in how to implement phone apis into that source) http://developer.android.com/reference/packages.html
Here's some general app development guides that will broaden your understanding http://developer.android.com/resources/index.html
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From my experience...
It probably does not matter where you start... I personally started with web based languages like VBS, and javascript, then jumped into c++... I completely avoided Java until recently.
VBS or Visual Basic is used for excel macros so you already have some experience under your belt. It should be pretty simple for you to apply that same understanding to the different syntax of Java.
Greetings,
I'm starting to learn some programming and I wanted to set some things straight about this.
Obviously, I found that it's best to start off with the easier languages like html, php, java, python, then move to C/C++.
Although I did some html and css, I'm not really into web development, but more attracted to Linux and app development.
So I'm asking, besides python (which I'm learning now) and C/C++, what should I do as general practice? Where can I find more about how an app works, how the hardware works (or drivers) or how could I get involved in the Linux community?
Is bug testing a good starting point?
I've learned the hard way that even after working with a programming language for a while, if you take a break you start forgetting stuff, so I guess I'd better learn something that I can practice.
And even if it might seem like an odd question, what do you do to learn better and faster? How do you keep your brain trained?
You're approaching the world all at the same time. Decide what you want to do and start from there. You're talking about web programming, then Linux programming, then C++. Learning C++ alone decently will take months of effort, not to say learning how to use it to create a real application. Decide what you want to do and don't change way a month after you decided.
Bye.
bogdan2011 said:
Greetings,
I'm starting to learn some programming and I wanted to set some things straight about this.
Obviously, I found that it's best to start off with the easier languages like html, php, java, python, then move to C/C++.
Although I did some html and css, I'm not really into web development, but more attracted to Linux and app development.
So I'm asking, besides python (which I'm learning now) and C/C++, what should I do as general practice? Where can I find more about how an app works, how the hardware works (or drivers) or how could I get involved in the Linux community?
Is bug testing a good starting point?
I've learned the hard way that even after working with a programming language for a while, if you take a break you start forgetting stuff, so I guess I'd better learn something that I can practice.
And even if it might seem like an odd question, what do you do to learn better and faster? How do you keep your brain trained?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need to dive headfirst into one language and stick with it for a month or two.
Then you will know where your head is at.
Java or C is great for general practice.
The linux community is not hard to support.
There are forums that need help, bug testing(Linux kernel too, and you could help with Linux-next), etcetera.
To stay with it/learn faster/keep your brain trained it is best to either get involved in some sort of project or create your own project to keep you working with your language of choice.
const_char is right. Concentrate on what you are really intersting now and take the way. Achieve adequate level of experience in some area, and it clarifies next steps.
Yes, I would recommend starting with Java as well.
Java is a relatively simple language, and it abstracts away some of the machine details, so it is easier to stay out of trouble than with a low-level language such as C.
Once you're good at Java, you could move to C/C++. They are very similar languages, you just need to learn about the machine details now. How to use pointers, and manage your own memory, that sort of thing.
The language isn't important, once you got the basic principles.
If you've already started with python and are making good progress, stay with it. It's good language to learn and for a wide range of real-world tasks.
The Language isn't important...
Get Ideas of what you want to accomplish, and simple find the tools you need to get it done. Python has lots of libraries to access everything you wanted
To much...
Keeping your mind trained is not the problem, but your letting your mind wonder to other programing languages, most people don't get into all the languages at the same time... I found Python to be the easiest for me to start on and work with Linux now. But just because your curious does not mean you should try them all, it's like trying to learn Russian, German, and Spanish all at the same time...
To Learn How An Application Works Or How A Hardware Works It Is a must to have a profound knowledge of C programming Language.
Also I Would Recommend you to spend some time Reading The Book "The Design Of Unix Operating System" By Author "Maurice Bach" So as to gain some knowledge of some basic system-level topics like File-IO and Processes in Linux Before Starting to learn any of the complicated topics of Linux.
Assembly!
You could try learning Assembly first! Its a little weird for a beginner I guess but if your assembly is rock solid then C should be pretty easy and from there on everything else should be pretty simple. Assembly is as low as you can get before you start writing plain 0's and 1's and having a good foundation in Assembly to begin with will really help you in your endeavour. Also, Assembly is as lightweight as it gets so your apps will be blazing fast but its also a pain in the ass to write with so... I'd say start off with either assembly or C and work your way up.
I can't believe all these advice and not one of them tells you to learn shell script! Shell script is the first thing you should learn if you want to programming within the Linux/Unix environment. I mean how else will you be able to compile c/c++ object files without writing make script?
I think at first you should learn bash script language
After try to build some system multithreading apps, forks(with sygnals), etc. Its very useful, when you'll start code something more serious.
Hello All,
Will try and keep this short: Am an old time developer, since 1979. I was self-taught, as a kid, never one class. The weakness there is that I never learned most of the terms.
So when learning new languages, it was harder since I didn’t have a reference point. i.e. may no longer be used, but I created “linked lists”, just never knew they were called that.
Anyway, I never got past using C and WinSDK. And I learned just enough Perl on the fly as I needed it to create some backend parts to some of my apps.
I am desperate to start a new project, preferring to do it on Android first. As hard as I looked for LOCAL developers with serious programming experience, and preferably some Voice SDK experience I failed. I tried Craigslist and Meet Up. Nothing.
So I need to do this MYSELF. Or at least start it and come up with the alpha-prototype on my own.
After all that explaining, what’s the BEST (and least expensive) means I can purchase to teach myself programming an Android device?
I always loved forums, we’re talking back when NEWSGROUPS were the way to go. Because out there was always someone who knew…and was willing to share their point of view.
Currently using a PC-Windows environment, so any IDEs in that arena would be preferred.
So any help, any direction would be so appreciated.
Many thanks ahead all,
Sergio
I would definitely recommend grabbing Android studio and looking through Androids developer docs. If you're familiar with java all you really need to know is the Android framework and how everything works together (lifecycles, passing data around, working with various sensors/hardware, etc).
Android studio is free so no cost to you there. If you're not familiar with java there are tons of good resources online
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Hi!
I agree with @blackangus, i started programming for android with eclipse at that time and some tutorials i found online.
In my experience is a little bit frustrating at the beginning because is has some hard to understand concepts if you come from low level languages.
you can try to follow a basic lessons to start understanding the different parts like,
1) Views ( it cost me pretty much to understand how views and activities work)
2) Networking and async threads (restfull services calls and json manipulation)
3) Play services (push notifications, account registration and such)
this was the approach i took and it helped me a lot, i hope my humble guide helps you too.
5 years ago I got my intro to Android via Android App Inventor: http://appinventor.mit.edu/explore/
Good intro to Android concepts but drawing pictures instead of writing code still can't produce professional apps.
So I dove into learning Android Java. Nice...
My background was in C ; I never quite figured out C++ and have heard since that Java is superior anyway, written for OO instead of adapted from C.
I still program plenty of C for Android NDK low level code.
Before C, I did various assembly/machine languages, including the first CPUs in the mid 1970's and in early 80's front panelled a simple OS into an old PDP-11/05 to use an Apple clone keyboard and a "TV Typewriter" type 6847 Video board I built...
Now I'm wondering about iOS Objective C. Much more money still it seems in iPhones/Pads.
I am a newbie too. My background is microcontroller programmer, so i use C very often. When i start learning android programming, i begin with learning java and eclipse first, after i got the OOP concept, i begin learn to use android API and Android Studio....when we start from low level language, learning Java is easier... Java basic first then android API....
I am a serious coder, usually working with enterprise applications at my job. In my experience, if you need to learn something new, it is better if we get help from some friends or professional trainers. Saves us a lot of time and trouble. If you want to learn the basics of OOP and are going to build something, I suggest you get help of a professional trainer. You will be clear about the subject matter easily and with your experience, you will achieve progress within no time.
Wow. I don't feel so bad now. I'm and old geek too. I'm looking at trying to develop a simple game for Android. My last coding was in 1988 using COBOL. I'm a System Analysist but most of my experience was in medical systems and Digital Radiography. I'm basically a College Freshman.
Thanks for the information.
Can we keep this thread open or create another for Q&A from you wiz kids?
A funny note: I was involved with Search and Rescue in 1979. We were a driving force to get SAT phone's going but our budget only allowed for 2 satellites that year. We tested with a fellow driving in California while talking to us in Milwaukee. We only had a 20 minute window , then had to wait till the next.flyover 3 hours later. We've come a long way. Let's keep the momentum going!